


By the Pricking of His Thumbs

by Enednoviel



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-14
Updated: 2012-09-14
Packaged: 2017-11-14 05:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enednoviel/pseuds/Enednoviel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Missing scene for "The Quality of Mercy".</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Pricking of His Thumbs

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for slightly changing the Bard’s quote from the Scottish Play for the title. Thank you to the lovely Lamardeuse for the beta-read and her suggestions! All remaining mistakes are my own.

_“We've got a double murder on our hands and you're messing about with some two-bit con man.”_  
 _“Yeah, but I feel there's something more. ‘By the pricking of my thumbs… '“_  
 _“Don’t tell me. Shakespeare?”_  
 _“Bravo.”_  
 _“I’m getting sick of bloody Shakespeare!”_  


 

“Simon Monkford, you are indicted on one count of manslaughter. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?”

Lewis watched as the man who killed his wife pleaded guilty and felt his stomach churn when Monkford turned around and looked up to him, seeking and finding his gaze, finally taking responsibility for his actions. If he was looking for forgiveness then he was asking for something that Lewis wasn’t willing to give. Couldn’t ever give.

He felt numb, strangely detached considering that this trial was about the sorry excuse for a human being who had ended Val’s life by hitting her with his car, never even thinking twice about who the woman was that he had killed. The words were washing over him and he was finding it hard to follow the proceedings at times, but managed to keep it together, even if it was close to torture as he was forced to relive the worst day of his life. And yet, today he also felt Val’s spirit with him like he hadn’t for a long time. 

He felt someone else right beside him and he knew it was the steady presence of his sergeant that kept him from breaking down, that helped him to go through this version of his own private hell.

Hathaway had had been quick to offer his support and accompany him to court. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but then again, he and Hathaway had been slightly at odds after their falling out over the Monkford case. It pained him that Hathaway had withdrawn yet again into his shell, rebuilding walls that had long ago been torn down by a steadily developing partnership. It saddened him to see how his sergeant avoided looking at him, more often than not turning his back to Lewis and sneaking concerned glances at him when he thought that Lewis wouldn’t notice. With the trial date looming over his head, Lewis hadn’t exactly been a ray of sunshine and that didn’t help mending things between them either.

That was why Lewis was touched by Hathaway’s offer, especially with Mark being too far away to come over for the trial and Lyn not feeling up to it, not that he could blame her. The thought of having to go through this on his own had scared the living daylights out of him, but he had been reluctant to ask his sergeant to come with him. Hathaway must have sensed this and now Lewis was grateful to have him by his side. He stole a glance at Hathaway who followed the trial with an unreadable expression.

When the session was finally over, they silently left the courtroom, Hathaway following Lewis out, walking a step behind him, which had become kind of a habit in the past few weeks. He was obviously unsure of what his governor was going to do next, how he would react now that the man who had brought so much calamity to their lives would finally be behind bars for a long time. When Lewis stopped to take a breather, Hathaway turned away, not willing or not daring to face him. Lewis knew this was his fault, them being out of synch like this, not quite sure what the heck had happened to their partnership, wondering whether they were still friends or not.

True, he had felt betrayed and hurt that Hathaway had not trusted him, that he didn’t tell him what he had found out about Monkford right away. He had been so disappointed that he even flat out denied his friendship with Hathaway to Innocent, claiming they were mere “colleagues”. And he had said things to Hathaway he regretted now. Lewis knew it was up to him to make the first step.

He turned to Hathaway, taking a deep breath to make sure his voice was steady and said: “Thank you.” Waiting for his sergeant to turn around until he finally faced him, he added, “for coming with me.”

Hathaway smiled at him, raising his hand and brushing briefly over Lewis’s back. “That’s okay,” James said softly. Despite the contact being casual and brief, Lewis felt the warmth and a glimmer of hope spreading through him. Maybe they could salvage what was left of their partnership after all.

They walked down the stairs and left the building without speaking and when they had crossed the street, Lewis slowed down. Hathaway fell into step beside him, which was definitely an improvement.

“Fancy a pint, sergeant?”

Hathaway briefly looked at him sideways and then turned his head again to look straight ahead, hands awkwardly in his pockets. It pained Lewis to see Hathaway’s reluctance to accept his invitation and peace offering, but even when it was obvious that he wasn’t keen on sharing a pint with his governor any time soon again he muttered “Why not?” Lewis sighed and stopped. Hathaway walked ahead a few steps and then stopped, too, looking down at his shoes. Lewis closed the gap between them and touched Hathaway’s arm.

“Come on, lad. I think we need to talk.” Lewis let go of Hathaway’s arm and started walking in the general direction of his car, knowing that James would follow him. Sure enough, he saw Hathaway catching up with him. 

“Which pub, sir?” 

Lewis shook his head. “No pub. My flat. I’ve got some lager in the fridge.”

When they reached Lewis’s flat, Hathaway didn’t plop down on the couch as he usually did, but remained standing, radiating insecurity and awkwardness. Lewis retrieved two cold bottles of lager from his fridge and gestured for his sergeant to sit down at the kitchen table. They sat down facing each other at opposite ends of the table and silently stared into their respective bottles for a while. _Not exactly a good start_ , Lewis thought and winced.

Lewis stopped fiddling with his cold beer bottle, finally studying his sergeant who still wasn’t ready to face him, looking down at his lager as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. “Lyn asked me to thank you.”

This was greeted by a heavy silence, but then Hathaway looked up at last. “Sir?”

“She couldn’t come to the trial with us. She said she couldn’t stand to face the man who killed her mother. But I told her everything. Everything you did. I told her that we owe it to you that this bastard has been brought to justice.”

That made Hathaway squirm on his chair. “Sir, I want to…”

Lewis raised his hand, interrupting whatever Hathaway wanted to say. “James, please let me finish.” Hathaway fell silent. With a voice that was much steadier than he felt, Lewis continued.

“This isn’t easy for me, Sergeant. You might not believe me, but I am very grateful for what you did. Both Lyn and I are, and she asked me to tell you.” He paused and then added, “I also owe you an apology.”

“Sir, there's no need…” Hathaway protested, but was yet again stilled by a hand gesture.

“There is every need, James.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat.  
“After the disaster with Oswald Cooper I had lost all hope,” he said softly. “But you caught the bastard. For Val. For Lyn and Mark and most of all, for me. You followed your instincts when you sensed that there was more to Monkford than met the eye. You’re a good copper.” He studied Hathaway who was inspecting his hands that were awkwardly playing with his bottle. 

“I should have told you as soon as I got the call from Met. I’m sorry,” Hathaway said quietly.

Lewis sighed. “I can’t blame you for not telling me right away. I guess I haven’t been exactly open about this particular subject.”

“Not exactly,” Hathaway agreed with a slight nod.

They both lapsed into silence again.

“However, I wouldn’t describe myself as the ‘enigmatic’ type,” Lewis said, looking at his sergeant expectantly, willing him to get the hint. 

A tiny smirk parted the face opposite him but disappeared as quickly as it came. “So, Innocent told you about my consulting her?”

“Yes, she did!” He paused and added “Although I don’t quite understand why you had to consult her in the first place. What was that all about?” 

“Isn’t she the one to consult when I have a problem with you, Sir?” Hathaway asked softly, finally looking up and locking eyes with Lewis.

That took Lewis by surprise. “And what problem would that be, James?” Lewis asked. 

Hathaway thought for a moment and then said, “To be honest, I wasn’t sure how you’d react. You made it pretty clear in the past that talking about your wife was completely out of the question. I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you straightaway, but when I finally plucked up the courage to tell you, my confession wasn’t exactly met with gratitude.” Hathaway took a swig of his bottle without breaking eye contact. 

Hathaway’s slightly sarcastic tone showed his genuine frustration about the situation. Lewis did his best to remain quiet. He owed Hathaway an explanation why he had gotten so angry when the lad really hadn’t done anything wrong. “Yes, I was disappointed in you. You kept this from me even when you knew what it meant to me. But I want you to understand that I wasn’t angry about you consulting Innocent. I was hurt that you so obviously didn’t trust me!” Lewis bit his lip, knowing that the next part would be hard to say. He looked up and found Hathaway’s eyes still resting on him.

“But looking back now... you were right. I bit your head off when I should have been grateful. I claimed that you don’t know me and worse, that you don’t know yourself. That was a low blow and I’m sorry.” He paused, contemplating his next words.

“Fact of the matter is that you know me better than I know myself sometimes. I bottled it up and snapped at you whenever the topic came up. For you mentioning Val must have felt like stepping through the proverbial minefield.” Lewis took a deep breath, his voice far less steady than it was minutes before, but he added “It still hurts too much to talk about it, James. Even with you.”

Hathaway’s expression softened. “It’s not that I don’t understand. But sometimes… sometimes I don’t know where we’re standing. Half of the time I feel like I’m overstepping lines and…” he hesitated. “I don’t want to lose what we have by stepping out of line with something I might say or do.” Hathaway swallowed, the fear that he had said too much was written all over his face.

It pained Lewis to see how truly insecure his sergeant still was about their relationship and a wave of affection quelled all his remaining anger about anything that happened between them in the past weeks.

“When Innocent asked me whether we’re still friends I told her we were colleagues.” He winced at the reminder of his own betrayal. “That was a rotten thing to say. We are more than that. We’re not just partners. We’re friends. At least I’d like to think so. And if you still don’t know this by now, you’re thicker than you’re letting on, lad!”

Hathaway snorted and let out a breath of relief. Then he nodded. “So, are we okay again, sir?”

“Of course we are,” Lewis confirmed and added. “I’ve been a right idiot and didn’t handle this well. I’m sorry.” He took another gulp from his bottle. “I don’t know if I can put it all to rest now, I doubt it, but I’ll try to remember not to rip your head off in the future whenever you mention my wife.” 

They shared a look and Lewis knew things were on the mend between them. Hathaway studied him for a while and then smiled, “To our friendship then!” He raised his bottle and was met half way with a satisfying clink. 

They silently nursed their drinks for a while, but it was a companionable silence at last.

After a while, Hathaway chuckled. “I’m so glad we sorted this out, sir.”

Lewis frowned at him. “Oh, really, why is that?”

“Because that was a narrow escape from being sent to an encounter group to get in touch with our true feelings.”

Lewis’s eyebrows went up to his hairline. “Dare I even ask?”

“Better not, sir.”

“I'll take your word for it, Sergeant!”

THE END


End file.
